Summer, a New Business, and 3 Kids…
I’m going to think out loud here as I try to determine how the heck I am going to manage the upcoming summer. I am heavy in the trenches launching eSelfHelp. I have one more week of kids in school, then my 3, 6 and 11 year olds will be home full time with me. It’s also Memorial Day, and the official start of summer, in which I long to take my kids to the zoo, the ice cream parlor, downtown Chicago to Millenium Park, out on our boat and just for walks in the nearby forest preserve.
At the same time, I have a business in the earliest stages, and the foundation I lay now will be the key to my success later. I need to get into Chicago to meet with my friends who have been successful in their own business ventures to work with them to refine my business plan and strategy. I need to spend about 10 hours a week working on my consulting gigs, and need a large amount of time to concentrate on marketing the site when it is done.
What to do?! First of all, I think I need to frame this with a good question that is guaranteed to give me great answers. (Read more about empowering questions here). I’m really not coming up with any good ideas right now, so I will ask myself the following:
“What can I do this summer to guarantee that I will accomplish everything I need, as well as create a fun and rewarding summer-break for my children?”
My Answers::
- Schedule time weekly for a fun outing we will all enjoy. I will commit to this by putting it on my work calendar, and by having them choose where we go. This way I have the time set aside, as well as the leverage I need to ensure I do what I say I will do
- Add small commitments to my weekly commitment lists to do little things with the kids to fill in the time between big outings
- Buy the kids a good sprinkler, sidewalk chalk, and other outdoor games to ensure they have the incentive to go outside and play rather than sitting in front of the TV
- Find another mom who needs some time away from the kids and swap weekly babysitting time so that we both have a set amount of hours every week that we can count on to take care of business tasks and errands
- Sign the kids up for swimming lessons and schedule my tasks during these times so that I can be productive while I don’t have internet access
- Get organized with the kids and their chores by putting together a chores chart. By doing this they will take more responsibility for their home, and I will get a little extra time to work
Wow. I still get surprised sometimes by the power of a good question. Now, in the past I wouldn’t follow through on all of these things. but with my Mastermind Group in full swing - I am accomplishing more than I ever thought possible in a week. So by adding these things to my commmitment lists, I am guaranteed to make the most of the summer. And I’m absoutely excited about it now!
Tags: Work at Home, Summer, Kids, Summer Break, Kids at Home, Summer Vacation
Explore posts in the same categories: Work + Kids, Productivity
